Massachusetts Teen Sues Newburyport School District Over Claims They Failed to Protect Her After an Alleged Sexual Assault

She claims the district violated school policies and Title IX.

A woman is reportedly suing her former school district upon claims that administrators failed to protect her after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by two classmates, BuzzFeed News reports. According to the lawsuit, the woman — who is identified as "Jane Roe" throughout the document — alleges that she was raped and sexually assaulted by two male classmates at a sleepover when she was 15, and that Newburyport High School's administration failed to follow both school policies and Title IX after she came forward with what had happened.

Jane, who is 19-years-old now, told BuzzFeed that she is choosing to take legal action now in order to speak out on behalf of other teens who might have had similar experiences. "All I can think about most nights before I go to sleep is that there’s another 15-year-old girl going through the same thing," she explained.

The lawsuit outlines Jane's claims against her former classmates. She alleges that she was given marijuana from her friend's brother and his friend at a sleepover in 2013. Because it was her first time smoking, she didn't want to consume too much, but claims that her friend's brother encouraged her to smoke more. Jane says that she later went to lie down in her friend's room, which is when the brother came in and allegedly raped her. Jane also claims that after the brother was done, his friend came in and also sexually assaulted her.

Jane's lawsuit goes on to claim that when she tried to bring her experiences to the school, she was repeatedly turned away from the nurse, school psychologist, and guidance counselor, consistently being told that they were busy. Eventually, Jane and her family met with the principal and other school officials, where they allegedly agreed upon a safety plan. However, Jane claims that the school didn't meet their end of the bargain, and that they failed to protect her from seeing her alleged attackers in the halls and did not protect her against continued harassment.

The young woman tells BuzzFeed News that she felt she did everything she was supposed to do. Jane added: "I spent my whole life believing that these institutions were supposed to help me. I told them the most horrible thing that’s ever happened to me and the way they responded was shocking. It was such a betrayal." She eventually left Newburyport High School for a private school in Boston to get away from the entire ordeal.

The superintendent of Newburyport Public Schools released a statement, claiming that the district "has not been presented with a lawsuit and will not comment on a lawsuit it has not seen." The superintendent also added, "Please note that Newburyport Public School is unwavering in its commitment to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all students. To allege otherwise is wrong and does not accurately reflect the Newburyport school community."